Category: Rescue

Responsible pet ownership requires a lot of dependability, knowledge, and consideration; unfortunately, some new pet owners take this responsibility very lightly.

So, before you take home your new dog or cat, consider the following pet care tips to ensure that you are providing your new friend with the right amount of care and just the right amount of love! Your new companion is relying on you to provide it.

Dogs

Whether your new pet is just a puppy or an adult dog, you have a challenge ahead of you to practice responsible pet ownership and awareness. Your home is new territory, and you are now your pet’s primary caregiver. Both kindness and a firm yet reassuring approach to your new dog will go a long way. Ensure that he knows you’re ready to give him the love he deserves by creating a canine-friendly atmosphere and integrating these pet care tips into his routine.

Crate training and housebreaking: Two very important stages in your dog’s life. Crate training, should you choose this method, gives your pet a quiet, safe place to retreat to at bedtime or whenever you leave the house. If you want to prevent chewing or scratching, crate training might be necessary in the beginning. Housebreaking is just a matter of routine – think of a word you want your dog to associate with going to the bathroom outside and use it repeatedly. Take your dog outside multiple times, normally after meals or water breaks, and he’ll soon make the connection.

Flea and tick prevention: Without preventative measures and an ounce of responsible pet ownership, your home could become infested or your dog could become extremely ill. Most vets can provide you with products that eliminate fleas and ticks on your dog. Available orally or in a liquid form placed on the back just once a month, your dog will be able to repel fleas, ticks, and parasites regularly.

Shots and preventative vaccines: Dogs suffer from many terrible diseases that are often fatal if not treated or prevented at the outset. Vaccination is one of the most important pet care tips that can be provided – and one that should be heeded. Rabies, distemper, heartworms, and parvovirus are some of the worst viruses that can afflict your dog – your vet will discuss which shots your pet receives at each yearly check-up to prevent these agonizing diseases.

Spaying or neutering: Similar to yearly vaccinations, highlighting the need for spaying or neutering play into vital pet care tips. Gone unmonitored, two dogs can produce over 4,000 offspring in seven years. Sadly, a large number of these dogs will be euthanized or left to fend for themselves on the street. Spaying or neutering, a major part of responsible pet ownership, ensures your pet will be healthier in the long run, and you will have prevented the birth of more unwanted puppies.

Obedience training: Your dog desires structure. Teaching him the basic commands yourself or enrolling him in an obedience or training course gives him a level of organization in his life. Furthermore, teaching him certain commands also ensures that he will be a well-behaved, functioning member of your family within your home. Purchase a book offering pet behavior and pet care tips, such as My Smart Puppy by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson or Dog Talk by John Ross. These two books will give you a better idea of responsible pet ownership and how to approach certain situations with your new dog.

CatsUnlike dogs, cats are much more independent, needing perhaps less of your attention. Cats, however, rely on you for the same necessities that a dog expects. If problematic behaviors pop up, contact your local animal shelter or animal welfare organization for more pet care tips. Most likely, literature on both dog and cat care will be provided upon request.

In any case, to help your cat be a happier, better-behaved feline, consider the following more important pet care tips:

A clean litter box: If your cat lives inside, you will need to clean and/or empty his litter box at least twice a day. Every week or so, you’ll also need to dump the litter out entirely and wash his box with hot, soapy water to reduce the spread of bacterial growth. This task can be easy to forget, but cats are clean animals. For a cat, this is one of the more important pet care tips – ensuring his area is always clean. The location of his box is important – keep it out of high-traffic areas and away from his food. To help him learn to use his litter box, show him where it is four to five times a day and encourage him to use it, praising him when he uses it or even just digs.

Flea and tick prevention: Fleas and ticks can make your new pet very sick and can introduce parasites into the bloodstream. Practice responsible pet ownership! Prevent this from occurring by purchasing flea and tick preventative products from your vet. Flea powder and a quick sweep of the vacuum through your house is also an excellent guard against fleas or ticks. However, if you do opt to buy products online or at the store, be cautious and practice responsible pet ownership by checking the labels and warnings if any – some preventative measures are harmful to cats.

Spaying or neutering: As important for cats as it is for dogs! Responsible pet ownership dictates that you have your cat spayed or neutered when s/he is between six and eight weeks old if possible. Not only will you help prevent pet “overpopulation,” but you will reduce the potential for other cancers and diseases that may occur if your cat is not surgically altered.

Shots and preventative vaccines: Cats are susceptible to a variety of fatal and painful diseases. Without vaccinations and a nod to responsible pet ownership, they will likely die or have medical issues throughout their lives. Much like the recommendation for dogs, vaccination for cats is one of the most important pet care tips. Rabies, FeLV (Feline Leukemia), FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus), and distemper are some of the worst – however, with a regular check-up and shots from your vet and just a bit of responsible pet ownership, you have nothing to worry about!

Be a Knowledgeable Pet OwnerYou now have a big responsibility on your hands. Your new cat or dog ultimately relies on you to provide him with the necessities of life, and it is your job as a responsible, knowledgeable pet owner to ensure that he has a happy, healthy life by incorporating a routine into his life and following the pet care tips that have been outlined above.

Do your research and talk to other pet owners to get other helpful pet care tips! Your pet has basic needs that must be fulfilled by you. Of course, he needs a ready supply of cool drinking water, healthy dog or cat food, shade or shelter, and grooming on a regular basis, but he also expects you to create a loving home and warm environment and to keep him healthy and happy.

With just a little awareness of what to expect coupled with responsible pet ownership, you’ll be ready to give your new companion lots of love and a happy home!

Animal health care is becoming more and more costly, however as a pet lover you would feel a huge emotional strain as well as financial if your animal were to get sick. Loosing a pet for people is a similar feeling to that of losing a loved one and while there are people who may believe this is not true I for one would feel a great gaping whole in my life if I was to loose my pet. However, there are financial burdens that can come when caring for an animal and there are ways that you can try to avoid the financial costs to a degree to ensure that you can provide the best health care for your animal without having to mortgage your house to do it.

If you have a pet that becomes ill or injured the added factor of the cost and the stress concerned with paying for veterinary care need not be such a burden as you are able to obtain health insurance for your animals as well as yourself. Just as human health care costs increase so do the costs of veterinary care and now with the advent of pet health insurance you can attempt to lessen any burdens regarding those costs in the event that your animal is in need of veterinary care.

The most common forms of health insurance relate to house pets, the most common house pets being cats. Having in place a pet insurance policy to cover your moggy in the time when there may be the need to visit the veterinarian for treatment or for an operation can reduce your emotional and financial stress levels. When you know you have insurance in place you are more likely to take your cat to the vet in a timely manner rather than in some cases, if there are financial concerns, doing your best to try to ensure the cat is getting well only to find that you are not able and then being forced to visit the veterinarian. When you know that the cover is in place you can take your animal to the vet as soon as possible. Rather than that attempt at avoiding the costs perhaps causing further illness and you are more likely to avoid long illnesses or recovery times as you take them immediately knowing that most of these costs will be covered under the pet health care policy.

There are many cases where an animal is ill and the owner does not have insurance or the financial means to carry out expensive procedures and the last resort for the owner is to have the animal put to sleep. This is of course still a financial cost but the emotional cost of having to choose to put your animal to sleep rather than receiving an expensive treatment will linger for a long time.

There are a lot of options available for the types of cat health insurance available and they impact on the actual premiums charged. You can choose to take cover that only covers preventative care such as vaccinations or you can choose cover for pet treatment for times when they are ill, get a disease or have suffered an injury. Using an insurance that only covers vaccinations or preventative health is a much lower premium charge but this will not avoid situations as stated above where if the financial costs are so high you must choose to have the animal euthanized.

If you are considering pet health insurance do not wait until your animal is older, as just as with humans the premiums charged increase proportionate to age. If you were unaware that you could even obtain this cover then talk with your veterinarian as to what type of policy would be best for you and your animal and check out the financial cost of having a policy as opposed to the risk of having to find the funds should an event occur.

Whatever you decide, if you are like me and consider your pet a member of the family then don’t be put off in obtaining pet health insurance at the scorn of others. They don’t have to live without your pet if something does happen and if you are given the option to provide great health care and cover expenses then you should look into whether this is possible for your own peace of mind.

When looking for your next dog, you have a few choices. You can contact a breeder, go to the pound or animal shelter, or find a breed-specific dog rescue organization in your area.

Breeders, like all things, come in good and bad varieties. First, you’ll have to pay for your puppy, ranging anywhere from $200-$5000, depending on breed. Second, just because you pay the highest price, it doesn’t mean you will get a good, healthy puppy. Lastly, many breeders have worse return policies than shelters.

The animal shelters are a popular option. Most are dogs who were lost, or in some cases, which in and of itself means that you do not know their history. In some cases, the dogs were given up by their owners, but oftentimes, it was for a reason the owners do not divulge to the shelters. The cost of acquiring a dog from a pound is usually very low ($30-$100, depending on municipality), but your chances of finding a purebred dog there is much lower, and finding a puppy is even harder. Most of the time, if shelters have puppies available, it’s because they took in a pregnant stray dog, which means the sire of that litter is probably a different breed from the dam – meaning, you have a mixed breed dog (mutt). The biggest drawback to owning a “mutt” is that there really is no way to predict what type of an adult dog it will turn out to be; even size is hard to predict. The dam may have been medium-sized, but 7 months later, you may find that your young dog is making most Great Danes look puny and need 2 hours of exercise per day. Everything about animal shelter dogs are unknown.

You do, however, get to pick and choose which dog you want, and the shelter will usually let you take that dog home for a nominal fee. That is the main perk and drawback of animal shelters because oftentimes, the family is the least suited of all to make that decision, especially if a 4 year old points and chooses which dog he/she thinks is the perfect dog.

Then there are the dog rescue organizations. As mentioned, dog rescues generally focus on “rescuing” particular breeds but considering many of them are “rescued” from the pounds a day or two prior to euthanasia, the same applies – history of the dog is often unknown. The greatest upside to adopting a dog from a dog rescue is that most are kept in foster homes until more is known about the dog. Good dog rescues will generally focus on that dog to learn as much about him to match the right family up with the dog by using “foster homes” that spend a considerable amount of time getting to know the dog.

Dog rescues, though, will generally not adopt out dogs to just anyone. Many have rigorous processes of getting to know you, your family and the living situation for the dog, so as to avoid having the dog becoming homeless again. There are questionnaires, and upon completing those, you and your family are usually invited to visit the dog at the foster home. When that is completed, the foster home or a volunteer coordinator from the dog rescue will visit your home to make sure it’s suitable for owning a dog. Then, a visit with the dog in tow will happen, to make sure that the dynamics between the dog and your family are just right. If and when all of this is completed and the result is satisfactory will the rescue organization adopt a dog to you.

Puppies are available at dog rescues more often than animal shelters, but keep in mind there is a long list of pre-screened homes waiting for that puppy. It’s best to get on that list early if your mind is set on getting only a puppy. Young or young adult dogs are readily available, though the exact age of the dog is sometimes unknown. Adult dogs are almost always available, and sometimes, mature dogs that need a calm home in which to live out their remaining years are available, and make the best pets. The final decision of which dog is most suited to your life, though, is made by the dog rescue.

Having said all that, the majority of dogs are homeless for two reasons. The first reason is that bad breeders produce awful puppies that naturally turn into awful dogs. As is the case with people, bad genes cannot be helped. The second reason is that owning a dog is not for everyone, and many, many unqualified homes attempt it, and eventually fail. With many breeders not taking back their own puppies or due to being ashamed of having to return the puppy – many homes will dump what may be a perfectly good dog to shelters. This second chance saves the life of the dog, and it’s not surprising that the dog rescue will go to all lengths to ensure that the dog’s next home is his/her last.

If you find yourself considering the notion of adding a dog to your family, you must first look into which breed is right for your family and lifestyle, then contacting your local dog rescue focused on that particular breed to see what they have available is a good idea. They will know more about every single dog they have than any shelter will, and if that particular dog or breed is not right for you, they will let you know.

Deciding to bring a dog into your life is a big decision. But if and when you make this decision and have committed to taking care of a dog for the rest of its life, utilizing dog rescues to save a dog who needs a home is one of the best ways to go about bringing a good dog into your life.

To home a pet is serious business, the animal whether a dog or any other animal becomes a family member and the right animal care knowledge for kids is very essential. This article gives a broad overview of the basic considerations and care that need to be taken for dogs.

Dogs are probably the most loving of all pets; they give love unlimited and want the same in return. As a parent it is your responsibility to teach your child the importance of loving and caring for the animal as a first step in keeping a pet. A dog needs to be fed right, exercised and groomed at regular intervals. Training the dog to live indoors, obey commands and not chew your favorite rug or slippers is all a part of owning a dog.

Some basic tips on the right kind of animal care knowledge for kids to be practiced:

• Sweets are poison for your dog; the Xylitol an artificial sweetener is very dangerous because it causes the animal’s blood sugar to drop dangerously causing seizures, lack of coordination and even depression.

• Chocolate for dogs is an absolute NO! It can cause seizures, diarrhea and vomiting and has been known to be fatal for the animal.

• Dogs by nature are curious animals especially in the puppy and growing stages, keep them away from electrical cables and power outlets, glass and plastic. They can get an electrical shock, choke on plastic and the glass when ingested can cause internal bleeding.

• Dressing up your dog may cater to your fantasies but for the dog it may mean skin irritations and breathing problems.

• Your dog should be registered and wear a collar and dog tag ID attached to the collar at all times. Make sure your contact details are on the Identification tag.

• It is not advisable to bathe a dog too often due to skin problems; your vet can guide you on the right bathing intervals. Practice grooming the dog on a regular basis; everyday is best and give the animal plenty of fresh air and good nutrition. You can always sponge the animal down with warm water if he gets too dirty.

• You need to do a physical exam of the animal at least once a month – check the teeth for tartar, the gums for disease, the pads of the feet for cuts and bruises, the ears for infection. The dog needs to be taken to the vet for annual checkups and booster shots.

Use these basic tips as a starting point and build on your animal care knowledge for kids.